Alexandra Wrage

Because bribery is bad for business, I work on sane, cost-effective compliance solutions to the problem of international commercial corruption. I am very interested in the hallmarks of good governance and ethical leadership. In my weekly podcast, Bribe, Swindle...

Because bribery is bad for business, I work on sane, cost-effective compliance solutions to the problem of international commercial corruption. I am very interested in the hallmarks of good governance and ethical leadership. In my weekly podcast, Bribe, Swindle or Steal, I interview investigative reporters, business people and prosecutors to explore the world of financial crime – corruption, fraud, money laundering and sanctions. Last year, I edited How to Pay a Bribe: Thinking Like a Criminal to Thwart Bribery Schemes and prior to that I wrote Bribery and Extortion: Undermining Business, Governments and Security. I served, briefly, on the failed Independent Governance Committee of FIFA, football’s governing body. I spend a lot of time on planes. I’m Canadian-American. I grew up in Vancouver and then read law at Cambridge University (Kings). I live in Annapolis now, where my organization—TRACE—has its main office.

International sports have been commandeered by opaque governing bodies and autocratic states. The selection of host countries for major sporting events has increasingly tilted in favor of autocracies, and corruption is now simply assumed.

Corporate sponsors need to decide whether they’re going to be part of a solution in a sports world marred by cheating and criminality. They have an opportunity to leverage their considerable influence to support clean competition.

Enforcement actions brought in Italy against oil and gas companies for alleged misconduct in Nigeria stand in stark contrast with U.S. determination to scrap extractive industry Dodd-Frank provisions and EITI.

Given the limited oversight and the projected speed of development of the Belt and Road initiative, as well as the countries and industries involved, businesses working on these infrastructure projects are almost certain to face bribe demands.